Leeds United v Huddersfield Town: Striker inches closer to return

Chris Wood challenges Grant Hanley

Phil Hay

Leeds United striker Chris Wood pushed his claim for a start in Saturday’s Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield Town with a goalscoring outing in a training-ground friendly against Peterborough United yesterday.

Wood completed an hour of the match at Thorp Arch, following up his late appearance as a substitute in Saturday’s Championship win at Blackburn Rovers and giving Steve Evans food for thought with United’s head coach looking for a fourth straight league victory this weekend.

Wood made a long-awaited comeback from a hamstring strain in the final five minutes at Ewood Park, his first senior game since the end of January, but a longer run-out yesterday put him in contention for a more prominent role against Huddersfield at Elland Road.

Evans indicated over the weekend that he was likely to keep faith with a front two of Mirco Antenucci and Souleymane Doukara following Antenucci’s run of four goals in three games and Doukara’s strike in a 2-0 win at Cardiff City last Tuesday.

Wood, however, has increased Evans’ options after being put through a careful fitness programme as United worked to prevent a recurrence of his injury. Despite his strike in yesterday’s friendly, Peterborough claimed a 3-2 win.